Manchester United seem allergic to domestic cups

Four semi-final losses and now a quarter-final defeat in two seasons is not a great look for the club of Manchester United's size, nor for their manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

An interesting article by Luke Augustus for Sportsmail gave an interesting view on Man Utd's failures in cup competitions in recent years.

The Norwegian manager has been scrutinised throughout his tenure in the Old Trafford hotseat and just when you think the club are turning corners - such as Thursday's last-16 Europa League win at AC Milan - they again go to their bad ways and head back in the direction they came from.

It has been a recurring theme of the 48-year-old's reign and United supporters must have woken up incredibly frustrated on Monday morning after their FA Cup elimination with a 3-1 loss at Leicester.

United legend Gary Neville said he felt 'demoralised' by the result against Leicester and the different approach than the one against Milan..

'Been a good week, not surprising they go to Milan and do what they did because they are good away from home.'

'Beating West Ham last week, and then I'm surprised that the team has been rotated so much." said Neville for Sky Sports.

'I do think believe that group of players need to win a trophy under Solskjaer. Finishing second would be the priority at the start of the season and winning a trophy will now be the priority with that, they only have the Europa League left.

'I am demoralised a little bit as a United fan because I do feel that was a really good one to go for this season.' implying the chance of going further in the FA Cup.

Of the Leicester loss, five changes were made from that memorable night in Milan - with only Marcus Rashford ruled out through injury. Thursday's matchwinner Paul Pogba made his first start since February 6th, while it was Donny van de Beek's first since Valentine's Day.

Fernandes has been below his brilliant best for a while now and while he needs a rest from time-to-time a FA Cup quarter-final isn't the place for that. Leicester's midfield dominated with ease.

There is a worrying trend with the Red Devils in the latter stages of a competition in that they have the inability to perform to the best of their talents. There is an interesting piece of statistics - legendary Red Devils manager Sir Alex Ferguson only lost six cup matches at the Theater of Dreams in his entire 26 years there. In comparison, Solskjaer already leveled that number - multiple losses to Man City, then to Chelsea, Sevilla, now Leicester...

The culmination of all five Cup exits has angered United's fanbase who haven't celebrated a piece of silverware since their Europa League success in 2017.

'Brendan Rodgers has absolutely schooled Solskjaer they’re a point behind us in league yet our fans continue to celebrate the fact we’re 2nd,' wrote one user.

This view was echoed by another who put: 'Manchester United football club will not win a trophy with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as manager. It will never happen.'

The account Tactical Role tweeted: 'Manchester United won't win any major titles while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is in charge. It's as simple as that. Ole took United from A to B, now it’s time to take that next step.'

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'We're all aiming to win trophies at this club, but sometimes the trophy can hide other things that are happening at the club.", Solskjaer said last week.

'It's in the league positions that you see whether you're progressing, really. The cups you can be lucky or unlucky. Of course we're aiming to win, that's why you play football.

'I felt a big rebuild had to be made. The league is always the bread and butter and that's when you see how capable you are.

'The cups are sometimes an ego thing for managers and clubs. It's not like a trophy will say 'we are back', no. It's gradual progression at the top of the league. Sometimes the cup competitions can hide your progress a bit.'

With the Premier League out of reach and just the Europa League to play for, Solskjaer must win that tournament now to show progress is truly being made under his helm. They're the competition favourites and having been demoted from the Champions League, after winning their opening two group-stage games against Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig, there really isn't any excuses.